Originally Posted by tromboneliness

This is an interesting issue. There are two ACA meetings in my city, both of which I have been attending regularly. However, we've had an influx of AA's (recovering alcoholics), mostly because of one member who is kind of a salesman and invites his friends in AA to come to ACA. He means well, because a lot of AA's are also ACAs, but the vibe of the group has changed considerably, over the past few months. There are a lot of AAs who don't really have a clear concept of the scope of ACA, and tend to talk about their drinking/drugging behavior in ACA meetings. This makes some of us non-alcoholics uncomfortable, to the point where we feel triggered. It's as if a bunch of alcoholics (who remind us of our controlling, critical parents) have invaded our recovery space. It's hard to know what to do -- because, being ACAs, we tend to avoid confrontation at all costs. It's reached the point where a few of us are kicking ideas around about starting a new group, maybe an Al-Anon meeting with adult-child emphasis... maybe even meeting "off the books," so we can control who can attend.

It's hard to know what to do -- this guy who invites his AA friends does, as I say, mean well -- and they do have a lot of ACA issues -- but where is the line between "attraction" and "promotion," as in... whichever Tradition it is?

T